‘StarStruck’ survivors down to six

The ongoing “StarStruck” talent search is down to its Final Six, with last Nov. 27’s telecast eliminating Avery and Liezel. Who among the remaining bets—Arra, Migo, Jay, Ayra, Elyson and Klea—will end up on top?

We watch the tilt’s daily telecasts fairly regularly and can share that, even at this late stage of the competition, there are no clear or clearly deserving male and female winners.

It’s ironic that the tilt is pressuring its “survivors” to become “total” performers (outstanding actors, singers and dancers), because the only one of the final six who sings fairly well is Arra. As for dancing, practically all Filipinos dance well, so that isn’t a major sticking or judging point at all.

Acting? Ah, that’s where the tilt and its trainers spend the most time and focus, with practically daily thespic tests in either drama or comedy. Who stands out in that key area? All of the three remaining girls pass muster, but there’s no clear standout. If we had to choose, Klea would be “it.”

What about the guys? Migo is an “import” who has problems with dialogue in Filipino, while Elyson appears to have a regional accent, and Jay doesn’t speak all that succinctly, either.

So, how come they’ve made it up to the final six? It must be because some TV execs involved in the search don’t think that the speech or accent impediment is such a big liability. Alas and in truth, it’s a big, distracting problem that takes months or even years to really iron out!

Given the existence of that rankling impediment, it isn’t likely that any male finalist will end up as a clear standout and really promising winner.

So, we should focus more on the three female survivors, Arra, Klea and Ayra: Arra’s edge in singing could clinch the top spot for her, while Klea’s lesser edge in acting could be her ticket to the top.

As for Ayra, she too passes muster but doesn’t appear to have a uniquely strong suit, so if she finds favor with the jurors and viewer-voters, it would be for the totality of the favorable impression she makes.

Finally, on point of stellar appeal, look, charisma, “dating” or “X-factor,” Migo would seem to be the male standout, while Klea would “sort of” appear to be his female counterpart. Sorry for not sounding really enthused, but the “clear evidence” of potential stardom still isn’t there.

Remaining bets

As the tilt continues to heat up, the pressure could “force” the remaining bets to come up with their utmost best, and this reveals the true stellar glow and grit that the talent search is looking for—so, we aren’t losing hope.

But, we should note that the ongoing competition’s best bets seem to have a generally “hinog sa pilit” aura to them and their performances.

In other words, they aren’t being given enough time to really develop and get their act together as performers.

In addition, the acting “tests” they are given tend to be of the shallow or shrill variety, like a whole lot of screaming, faces being slapped or pushed into the muddy ground—etc.!

What makes the situation worse is the tendency of some of the senior stars the newbies are made to interact with in their thespic tests to push or manhandle them too much to “get a really good performance” out of them—and this gives them the wrong impression of what “good” acting should be all about!